As there are thousands of fossils, mostly fragmentary, often consisting of single bones or isolated teeth with complete skulls and skeletons rare,[1] this overview is not complete, but does show some of the most important finds. The fossils are arranged by approximate age as determined by radiometric dating and/or incremental dating and the species name represents current consensus; if there is no clear scientific consensus the other possible classifications are indicated. Deprecated classifications may be found on the fossil's page.

Most of the fossils shown are not considered direct ancestors to Homo sapiens but are closely related to direct ancestors and are therefore important to the study of the lineage.

^I. A. N., McDougall; Craig, Feibel (1999). "Numerical age control for the Miocene-Pliocene succession at Lothagam, a hominoid-bearing sequence in the northern Kenya Rift". Journal of the Geological Society156: 731–745. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.156.4.0731.

^ abcHill, Andrew; Ward, Steven (1988). "Origin of the Hominidae: the record of African large hominoid evolution between 14 My and 4 My". Yearbook of Physical Anthropology31 (59): 49–83. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330310505.